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A Steeled Skirmish
The group of mages continued their trudge along the outskirts of the city, trying to disturb as little as possible and reduce the already large footprint the war will leave behind in the citizen's lives. Archer's Cross had been traveling on foot for quite aways and the longer the walk, the more the lack of presence began to disturb Valencia. The only forces they encountered so far were minor goons yet even then it didn't seem to be many. Impatient with the disturbing lack of opponents, Valencia turned to her comrades and began voicing her thoughts. "Where are those we were sent here to fight? Surely an opponent who boasts such strength as Kladenets did would be eager to rid his lands of invading forces, yet we have yet to face anyone worth a grand battle. I know we've been trying to go around these towns and all, but the ease of our travels doesn't sit right in my gut." Gryphon nodded, unease creeping into his own veins as he kept his fingers ghosting over his bow strings in case he needed to draw and fire unexpectedly. Whenever they would engage anyone he would scamper up the nearest tree and fire at will though he had loosed fewer arrows than what he had originally imagined. Blue hair had been tied back from his face by a length of cloth the same dark charcoal as his trousers and shirt while a deep green cloak hung down his back. He had come prepared to blend; however, the trees had started thinning out aways back and left him feeling slightly exposed now. What good was an archer who couldn't see where to fire? "It's been a bit too quiet, no? Something is off and I don't like either." Cedar's breath was heavy. His skin and armor was covered in sweat, grime, and blood. So much blood, but, that was the price of war. The man still wore a smile. Not one of happiness but one of reassurance. He wouldn't let anyone get hurt. It was early in the morning. They had just crossed a river and he was on edge. He could sense something coming. Cedar put his arm back, silently telling his comrades to halt. He continued moving forward, raising two fingers at Gryphon, one of their signals on missions. ''Prepare to take fire. Cedar let his magic surround him, shrouding his body in golden light as armor formed, a broad halberd in his hand. He walked into the tall grass, his upper body still visible as he waited. It was then when the legion of Machinas appeared, surrounding him on all sides. They had been waiting to ambush their force. Cedar let out a laugh, preparing fight. It was a brutal dance. Cedar whirled around like a madman, parrying, thrusting and slashing through the demi-humans with the tact of a balanced warrior. It didn't last much more than a half hour. The endless slaughter of man as the knight continued to fight, switching weapons every so often to keep them on his toes. When the last one dropped, so did Cedar, crumpling to the ground with more than half of his aura depleted. The man was panting, but conscious as his armor and blade shattered into dust.'' That had been hours ago. It had taken him another half hour and frantic apologies from Cedar for his recklessness before the man stood and the guild continued traveling to where they were now. "I've been enjoying the break myself," Cedar said with a chuckle. He wouldn't forget their faces after he fought. They were worried. He had tried to keep them out of harm's way but at the cost of their emotional pain. He had to be careful. "At least Mere isn't here. She was begging to come on the ship." Kalina had remained quiet most of the time, the sights of war before her eyes making her lose her typically cheerful disposition for one more serious and calculated. It had been awhile since she had seen a battle of this caliber, her memory flashing back times of the Shattered Dusk War that had given her both the strength of a dragon slayer and the scars of being a captive experiment. This time was different though. This time she was on the side of her guildmates. This time the only thing that was controlling her was her will to protect those bonds that she has formed. She was thankful for the friends she had made, giving glances to Valencia, Gryphon, and Cedar in admiration at the strength they all show. She had been doing her best to cover them, following in the rear of their formation, sending out frequent pulses of sound waves to help detect if any ambush forces or underground traps lay waiting. But it was true that the easy of their travel since the initial battle had been rather...eerie. Kalina lets out a small grin at Cedar's comment, the joke cooling her nerves a bit as she feels a pulse sent back with something new. "Master, there is a city up ahead; it seems a line of underground explosives have been set around the entrance we are approaching. It's about two miles in front of us." From within that city lies a man with a stone cold expression on his face, though his eyes were alive with curiosity. Pulling out what looked to be a long range sniper rifle the man peers through the scope from atop the highest building in the cityscape. Hmmm interesting...so this must be the force that took out one of my platoons so quickly. I do hope that they are worth me leaving the location of Kladenets to come and intercept; but judging by the enormous magical power from the collective group, this will be no easy fight. As much as I could utilize this city to take out this squad, the risk of civilian casualty is too high... The man thinks as he brings up his camo-clad arm to press a button on the side of an exoskeleton gauntlet. A large orb appears to form mid air as the soldier grabs it and tosses it gently in front of him. Immediately around two dozen drone like creations appear hovering in the air before him, their motions are still as the man presses yet another button on his gauntlet that bring up a holograph display screen to allow him to input commands. "Alright my little hornets let's have you test the waters..." He says mindlessly, programming the drones to fire both plasma blast and elemental missiles while adaptively responding to incoming stimuli. He counts on the drones to send him accurate power levels and ethernano nature data back to his computer system before he makes his way to the field outside the city. "Now..." He whispers as he presses a green button on the screen of the holographic display, "Swarm."